The striking conical crown of the IWC Big Pilot's watch recalls the pioneering days of aviation, when pilots had to face extreme conditions in unheated cockpits. The original pilot's watches had particularly large crowns that were easy to grip, so that even a pilot wearing thick gloves and a padded flight suit could adjust and wind them. The black scales of the cockpit instruments with contrasting luminescent displays have been the inspiration for the design of classic pilot's watches for decades. The dial has been reduced to the bare essentials, with striking luminescent hands and numerals that stand out against the dark background.
IWC influenced the look of the cockpit instrument watch of classic pilot's watches in the 1930s and 1940s. The white triangular index at "12 o'clock" allowed pilots in the cockpit to immediately recognize the position of the hands and the time at a glance. The upright equilateral triangle has two dots on both sides, which make the dial easier to read and are also luminescent.
